I just wanted to share my story in hopes of helping others! I was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia right at 20 weeks with my first. I was put on meds to help control my bp but it steadily rose higher and higher. By 34 weeks I was admitted to the hospital on complete bed rest and to be monitored around the clock. I had pillows taped to my bed in case I had seizures and the highest I remember my blood pressure getting was 190/110.
At 34w5d the dr came in and told me that my urine protein levels were dangerously high and that we needed to get the baby out now. That was a Friday... Read More

When I was 14 yrs old I got pregnant with my first. Being pregnant at such a young age you dont know what to expect. I had no morning sickness I felt great. But when I hit my third trimester, I began to be fatigued and had blurred vision and would see spots.
So at my next doctor visit at 35 weeks, I told my ob my symptoms so she checked my blood pressure and it was 140. So she said I want to see you in 2 days because my blood pressure was high. My boyfriend and I went back to my doc 2 days later and my blood pressure was 145 so she said go straight to the hospital.
Now I'm all panicking because they weren't telling me anything. So we got to... Read More

I was 25 when I got pregnant with my first child. The 1st and 2nd trimesters were great then the unthinkable happend. I swelled up so bad that I could not get my shoes on and I just did not feel right. I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was very high and out of control. My doctor sent me to the hospital and tried to induce me, did not work. I had protein in my urine and very high blood pressures. We delivered at 36 weeks via c-section and had a very healthy baby boy. I was started on magnesium IV. Talk about horrible!!! I thought I was dying and I was terrified!!! 2 years later I got pregnant again and miscarried.
Three years after the miscarriage I got pregnant... Read More

I'd like to share a story that certainly has been a success. After his mother's bout with preeclampsia and being born at only 2 lbs and 12 oz, a young boy is now living as a healthy, happy 4-year-old.
Pace Tonn was born at 2:54 a.m. on December 31, 2009 at just 2 pounds, 12 ounces. At 12 weeks premature, Pace faced a 7-month long stay in the hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). On top of ventilator care, he also required blood transfusions and several surgeries. Although Keri was released four days after delivery, baby Pace had a long road ahead.
The NICU was actually turned into a miniature surgical suite so that Pace wouldn’t experience any... Read More

The past two years have been a series of ups and downs. I got married in August 2012 to a wonderful man and my best friend. We started settling into our life together when our town (and house) was struck by Hurricane Sandy. Our house was flooded and we lost everything. We just rented the apartment, so we moved in with my in-laws until we could figure out what was next.
Around Thanksgiving I suspected that I had become pregnant and this was confirmed by a home test. In early December I had an appointment with my OBGYN now that I was at about 6 weeks and for full confirmation. The pregnancy... Read More

My first pregnancy was very easy. I did not suffer from mourning sickness or fatigue. At around 32 weeks I developed a very persistent and painful headache. I took my blood pressure at home with an automatic machine. My BP was high so I went to a friends home to have it checked manually. It was still high. I called and reported my readings to the dr and was instructed to come in and have it taken in the office. My BP was high in the office with moderate amounts of protein in my urine. I was given a stress test were my BP normalized by lying on my left side.
I was diagnosed with preeclampsia and sent home on bed rest.... Read More

My husband and I were married in June 2009. I had just graduated from college and had a vague plan of returning to school in 2010 to work on my master's. We found out we were pregnant in October 2009; this was not a planned pregnancy, but while we were both extrememly nervous, we knew it was a blessing and were very excited. With a due date of June 21st, we were off to a normal start. The morning sickness set in right at 8 weeks-it was daily and it was awful, but my mother with whom I shared an office at the time assured me it was normal. I ate constantly trying to curb the nausea and gained about 7 pounds by my 12th week.
As my first trimester ended and my second began the... Read More

Hi my name Sheila and I am a survivor of post-eclampsia. In 2006 I gave birth to a son that weighed 6lb. 14oz. and was so happy. See, I was told I may not ever be able to conceive. I had alot of problems one of which was polycystic ovarian disease, but to my surprise I did conceive, and had a pretty good pregnancy except for all the morning sickness that lasted basically the entire 37 weeks.
I went into the hospital at 37 weeks to be induced because they were concerned about my placenta getting old. So went in and was induced and was in labor for 15 hrs. I had 3 epidurals which none worked on me. They decided to do a c-section because I wasn't... Read More

I have a four year old son, and when he was almost three I met his stepfather. We soon started talking about having a child together, and we were very happy when we found out we were expecting. I now had so much more to offer this child, then with my firstborn, but I still couldn't shake the feeiling that something was wrong! The feeling was so bad, that I didn't tell people before I was 23 weeks.
I calmed down eventually, but I got sick early in the pregnancy, already at 15 weeks my headaches started and my skin and hair looked awful. I itched everywhere, and had trouble sleeping. I remember thinking that no pregnancy can be this tough! But my doctor told us everything was FINE!... Read More

When I was just 17 years old, I became pregnant. I was just about to graduate high school and I was about to get married as well. The last thing I wanted during my pregnancy was something else to stress over and worry about. Three weeks before graduation and my wedding, I found out at my 13-week appointment that I had a low PAPP-A hormone (low pregnancy-associated plasma protein A). This in other words is a potential precursor to becoming preeclamptic. The doctor told me not to worry but they would have to keep a close eye on the baby and myself. At the time I had no idea what to expect or what it even meant. I cried a lot because I feared the worst possible situation, death, would... Read More

As I enter the 3rd trimester of my second pregnancy, I have begun to think a lot about the challenges I faced at the end of my last pregnancy. I guess in a way, I am gearing up for battle to try and be more prepared to face the struggle ahead.
I haven't really spoken about it much publicly, but those who know me well know that I had severe Â preeclampsia when my first son, was supposed to still be growing happily in my belly.
Around 32 weeks I started swelling. Nothing extreme, just enough that I had to take my wedding rings off and graduated exclusively to wearing flip-flops. I brought this up with my doctor who was not concerned. It was summer after all and I had low... Read More

January 7, 2014 baby girl born color of baby blue she did turn to normal color. Mother and baby go home; when baby is about five or six days old, mother was taken to hospital to emergency room. The mother had three seizures back-to-back... mother admitted to ICU. Mother had a heart attack. The mother showed all the signs of preeclampsia at hospital where baby was born but was sent home. Now in ICU... in the emergency room blood pressure 257 over 110; mother is on meds for blood pressure and heart. Before all this the mother had no problems with high blood pressure or her heart. Baby girl is doing fine so far and mother is still on meds. I am the baby's grandmother and her mother's... Read More

My husband & I found out we were expecting our first child together in July 2013, we were surprised yet thrilled. It was a great pregnancy until my 5th month of pregnancy, my husband started monitoring my blood pressure and there were times when it was elevated, I let my doctor know of the elevations, they said it wasn't running high in the office so they wasn't concerned about it, so another month went by with the same elevations until one day when I was almost 7 months, I awaken feeling sluggish & tired, just bad....so I went to the hospital to get checked on and low & behold, my blood pressure registered at 202/113 so... Read More

In Spring of 2012, I was pregnant for the first timeâ€¦and with twins! My husband and I were happily planning for the arrival of 2 little girls, due in August. Then at 21 weeks, my feet began to swell at the end of the day.Â At my visit to the OB/GYN that week, I questioned the swelling as well as the 125/80 BP I had. My baseline BP had been 105/60.Â I was told it was within normal range, and the swelling was also dismissed as non-concerning. On Easter Sunday, 22.5 weeks, I could no longer fit comfortably in my shoes, and my BP on a home monitoring machine was 135/85. I knew I had an appointment in a few days with Maternal Fetal Medicine, and convinced myself I would be told... Read More

Okay so hear is my story:
My name is Brittany and I'm 26 years old.
Baby 1 (2006): Quite an uneventful pregnancy, besides severe morning sickness and in and out of the hospital in the beginning to be re hydrated. I had an appt on my due date Aug 7 2006 and it was THEN... Read More

To my surprise at 43 I became pregnant! Terrified of all the issues that could happen at my age with pregnancy, I made sure I followed all the suggestions to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Everything was normal and healthy at 18 weeks so I allowed myself to be excited for the first time! Words can not express my feelings of joy and pride to finally be pregnant after thinking all my life I could not conceive. Around 20 weeks my body began to swell and I felt so bloated all the time nothing felt comfortable about my body. My OB at the time reassured me this was all a normal part of pregnancy. My BP was slightly high but nothing alarming according to my care provider. At 23 weeks, while at a... Read More

I had severe pre-e in my previous pregnancy in 2009.Â Â My daughter was born at 28 weeks at 1 lb and 4oz.Â I did not develop HELLP syndrome but just got high bloodÂ pressure, swelling, and protein in the urine.Â Since my liver enzymes and kidneys fuctions were decreasing I got an emergency C-section.Â Today my daughter is 5 years old and very healthy.
Due to the conditions with my daughter, I waited to conceive again.Â In Sept 2013, I was told that I was pregnant.Â I asked my OB/GYN (who was my OB with my first daughter) about any new precautions/procedures I should do for this second round.Â He told me no.Â In week 22, I went to the hospital with upper... Read More

The Birth of Sam"The Brave"
Written 4/25/13 (12 days postpartum)
Â
This is going to be really long.Â And I'm not sure who will read it.Â But before all the details become fuzzy, I wanted to write the experience as I remember it.... Read More

I suffered from a ruptured aortic valve brain aneurysm Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on September 12, 2012 (at 41 yrs. old) and I thank God every day that I am mentally and physically fully recovered! Emotionally, I am still working on that.
Here's my story. After giving birth to my daughter on August 27, 2012, I became very ill two (2) days later. My organs started shutting down, my blood pressure went extremely high and my platelet count went extremely low. After two (2) days of tests, I was diagnosed with Pregnancy HELLP Syndrome and immediately transferred from the... Read More

My pregnancy was a surprise, Brad and I had never planned to have children. I knew very little about the realities of pregnancy. I had never really looked into what can and does happen to a womanâ€™s body while it incubates a precious little life. If you also have not, itâ€™s a crazy bunch of stuff and purely amazing and disgusting at the same time, a bit like motherhood but that is another story all together. I had gestational diabetes and was being monitored weekly due to the medication that I had to take.
I went to work Tuesday August 28th, like one does when they are employed. I wasn't having any significant symptoms. Moderate swelling, a little edema but it seemed... Read More

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